Tube nerds in Islington must be a happy bunch: there’s a goldmine of Underground history in the borough, with all sorts trivia to be unearthed (sometimes literally) at many of its stations. So being partial to a spot of tube-geekery myself, I did a bit of research into Islington’s stations and came back with more fascinating facts than I ever expected…

Post navigation

Brie and Cranberries are not only one of the nicest festive food combos for Christmas – they’re one of the best taste sensations of all time, so I tend to stock up on the runny stuff around this time of year. The bloke and I have a favourite haunt for this type of thing – Le Peche Mignon off Holloway Road – and that’s where I spotted this lovely display.

I was especially grabbed by the rather wonderful idea for making the cheese even more seasonal: chop off a few edges in a classic brie triangle, et voila: you’ve got a brie Christmas tree. Possibly the quickest food craft ‘project’ I’ve ever encountered, but I couldn’t resist including it here as it’s not something I’d necessarily have thought of. Joyeux noel!

Post navigation

It’s a gloomy, miserable day here in London: The rain’s been going at it all day, and I for one feel like doing nothing more than kicking back with a cup of tea and a nice hearty slice of cake. And what could be a better treat on a drizzly day than lemon drizzle cake?

Fortunately, I have just a thing at my disposal, as my good old ma has passed on this wonderfully tangy recipe for me, which goes down a storm on rainy days. It’s great with vanilla icecream, and I recently took it along to a top-notch tea party I attended with the Domestic Sluttery girls.. .So without further ado I’d like to share my lemon drizzle cake, which is adapted from an old Cranks recipe. The defining feature of this heartwarming cake is the warm syrup that’s poured over the finished item at the end, but more about that over the jump…
Read on for the recipe

Apologies for the amount of parenthesis going on here: I believe all recipes should be adapted to taste, and experiments have proven that varying the ingredients can result in very different (though equally yummy) cakes. The choice is yours.

Ingredients

• 100g butter or margarine (I used a 50/50 mix for the best results)
• 150g caster sugar (or brown sugar for a denser, more gooey effect)
• 1 lemon, grated and juiced to within an inch of its life
• 1 to 1.5 free range eggs (the 1 egg version is flatter and denser again)
• 100g self-raising flour (wholemeal works well and gives a nuttier effect)

Method

Grease and line an 18cm loaf tin. Heat the butter/marge in a pan with about two thirds of the sugar, over a gentle heat until the fat has melted. Then take the mixture off the heat and add the grated lemon rind.

Next, whisk the egg(s) in a basin and add the sugar mixture. Fold in the flour and pour the whole mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake in the oven on gas mark 4 (180 degrees) for about 30 minutes until cake is just firm to the touch.

On the hob, warm the remaining sugar along with the lemon juice to make a warm syrup.

Prick cake all over with a fork, then spoon the lemon syrup all over it.